<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Compromised by LinzDreams</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29417598">Compromised</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinzDreams/pseuds/LinzDreams'>LinzDreams</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Paradise Killer (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Spoilers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 12:06:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,600</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29417598</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinzDreams/pseuds/LinzDreams</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>From the moment Love Dies saw Lydia and heard her best friend's voice, she knew her time in exile had left her compromised.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>(slight ref) Crimson Acid/Lady Love Dies, Lady Love Dies &amp; Lydia Day Break, Lydia Day Break/Sam Day Break</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Compromised</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>When I finished my first play through, I immediately went back to replay the trial so I could spare Lydia and Sam.  I didn't expect their deaths to affect me, but they did.  I wanted to justify it in my own slice of head cannon.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The island rumbled under Lady Love Dies' feet as she stepped out from the Court House.  It was a reminder of the eminent destruction Carmelina had put into motion in a desperate play to save herself. </p><p>For all the good that had done her.</p><p>Love Dies knew she needed to quickly make her way to the pier so they could get off this dying island. Judge's last words were plaguing her though.  She did know that there was further truth and she hadn't spoken it at trial.  She had justified it to herself. It wasn't her fault the Architect had started them with time constraints. She'd simply worked within them to most efficiently deal with the biggest threats. Those who were the outright murderers and masterminds behind the counsel members deaths.</p><p>She had told herself there wasn't time for the bit players in the narrative.</p><p>Now, she faced a dilemma. Should she execute justice or ignore any further charges.</p><p>"Quite the ruckus in there. I'm thinking of filing a noise complaint. Did you get your bloodlust on?" The snide comment was accompanied by an abrasive laugh that Love Dies had grown too familiar with over the last day.</p><p>"Justice was executed if that is what you are asking." She replied while turning to the blue demon who had materialize beside her.</p><p>"I'm asking if you got to commit a bit of sanctioned murder. The kind that let's you pretend your hands are still clean." Shinji answered.</p><p>"I didn't know you had such a respect for the sanctity of life." Love Dies stated wryly.</p><p>"For you people?" Shinji scoffed, "Couldn't have happened to a nicer group of assholes if you ask me." The demon tilted his head slightly. "Except maybe you Love Dies. I suppose your okay."</p><p>"You've grown on me as well Shinji." She admitted after a moment.</p><p>Shinji's expression morphed into a particularly filthy leer, but before he could speak further the island gave a sickening lurch underneath them. Love Dies grabbed the railing beside her in order to keep her feet. Shinji yelped,"Oh shit!" and his unstable form disintegrated from in front of her.</p><p>When 24 had calmed once again, Love Dies took a brief moment to mourn leaving Shinji, One Last Kiss, and Henry behind.  She knew that sympathy for the demon and the citizen in particular were a mark of how compromised the time in exile had left her. After Damned Harmony she had vowed never to trust anyone outside Syndicate again. Three million plus days in exile had eroded that. It had left her achingly lonely. She'd missed Isiah like a part of herself had been removed.  Lydia, Sam, and the rest of their crew had been subtler pain, but still enough to leave her breathless some days.</p><p>From the moment Shinji had appeared in her Idle Lands room, she knew she was in trouble. Long ago, her first instinct would have been revulsion and the desire to destroy him for the threat he was no matter how minor.  Instead the moment he had spoken to her, all she could feel was relief.  Relief at hearing a voice not her own and no longer being alone no matter how brief.  Seeing Lydia had nearly brought her to her knees. Her best friend was still as vibrant and beautiful as she'd ever been and Love Dies had wanted to weep when she'd heard Lydia's voice.</p><p>Yes, exile had left a mark and that brought her full circle to her dilemma.  What to do about justice and the loose ends of truth left dangling by the abbreviated trial.  She was sure she knew what Judge would expect and she was equally sure what pre-Damned Harmony her would have done. She wasn't that woman any more though. She was still a born investigator, but some things in her views had shifted.  She knew what she wanted to do. She supposed it was time to see if it was a possibility.</p><p>With renewed purpose, she moved to the nearby phone and put in a call.</p><p>"Ferry services!" Lydia answered.</p><p>"Hey Lydia, can you take me to Knife Through the Heart?"</p><p>"Sure thing LD." Came the cheerful response. "We better make it quick though. Not sure how much longer this reality can hold on."</p><p>Love Dies hoped she was making the correct choice.  When her friend arrived, she climbed into the back seat and Lydia gunned the car into the corridor that would deliver them to the bar. </p><p>"What happened to your old car Lydia?"</p><p>"Sorry LD?" Lydia asked.</p><p>"Well you said rather than refurbishing the old car, you had Masahiro make this beauty. What happened to the old girl?"</p><p>"Oh, she is stored on the island."</p><p>"Does she still run?" </p><p>"She does." Lydia replied slowly.</p><p>"Would you happen to have immediate access to her?"</p><p>"I do, but why do you need to know this LD? Burn Parliament here can fit the five of us I promise."</p><p>"I have no doubt." Love Dies answered, "I was just curious."</p><p>"Well we're here LD."</p><p>"Will you come with me please Lydia?" </p><p>"I really need to round up Doom Jazz and Crimson still."</p><p>"I promise this will be quick."</p><p>"Sure LD."</p><p>As they approached Sam's bar, he stepped out to greet them.  His eyes met Love Dies' and then moved over to his wife's. The love and tenderness displayed in the gaze made Love Dies' heart ache.</p><p>Lady Love Dies took a deep breath and she stepped back slightly so she could see both of her friends together. She had just gotten them back. Losing them again so soon seemed unbearable, but she had made her choice. Now to follow through.</p><p>"Sam Day Break. Lydia Day Break." Her voice rang out as she looked at each in turn. "The truth is that you are both guilty of assisting Witness to the End's conspiracy to harm the counsel. Lydia, you breached the four holy seals to deliver the box containing the killer demon to the counsel chambers.  Sam your held god flesh, stole counsel blood, and harboured Witness' means of entering and exiting the Dead Zone."</p><p>"Come on LD, don't do this. This is me. This is us." Lydia began to plead.</p><p>"LD, we didn't know what we were carrying" Sam added. "We only wanted to help a friend."</p><p>Lady Love Dies raised her weapon. "Maybe, maybe not. I'm inclined to the former, but that doesn't change the facts. The truth is that you knew that what you were doing was against counsel law and you knew the risks you were taking."</p><p>"Don't do this LD." Lydia repeated, her voice thick.</p><p>"Judge charged me with dispensing any justice the trial may have missed. So I am." Eight shots rang out, lodging harmlessly into the grass next the the bar's front patio. "Your execution has been carried out. Your are now dead to the Syndicate."</p><p>The Day Breaks stared at Love Dies. Understanding dawned in Lydia's eyes. "LD." Her voice was filled with a mixture of relief, hope, and a touch grief. </p><p>"Goodbye Lydia, Sam." She reached out to remove Burn Parliament's key from where it hung loosely in Lydia's grip. She turned to head back to the car.</p><p>A hand grabbed Love Dies' wrist. "Come with us." Lydia urged.</p><p>"I can't. If Crying Grudge is correct, 25 is going to need the Psycho Unit and the Investigator. Someone has to be there for the citizens. Someone has to begin the change."</p><p>"They won't change and they won't appreciate you bucking them. You will be a target. You could be facing Exile again." Sam's gravelly voice stated quietly.</p><p>"I know." Loves Dies closed her eyes and her shoulders slumped briefly. She was suddenly so tired. Then the brief respite she'd found with Crimson flashed through her mind and she found herself hopeful that she wouldn't be completely alone. "I promised Henry I would try though.  After what we did to him, even above a beyond what we perpetrate on a normal citizen, he deserves someone who remembers his pain. Who remembers his injustice. Someone who fights to stop it from happening again. Now go. Explore, live, and love to the fullest. I will hold you both in my heart as closely as I always have."</p><p>Lydia used the grip on Love Dies' wrist to pull her in for a hug. Sam's bony arms enveloped them both.  "I'm going to miss you two so much." Love Dies admitted and was shocked to find herself crying. "Please just go."</p><p>The Day Breaks released her and turned to head into the bar. Lydia looked back once more as she passed into the dim interior. "Goodbye and thank you." Then they were both gone.</p><p>Lady Love Dies was alone.</p><p>A harsh chuckle sounded behind her. "You getting soft on me Love Dies?"</p><p>With a heavy sigh, she turned to face the demon. "I must be Shinji. If I could figure out a way, I'd probably take you with me to 25."</p><p>"I never was the perfect type. Plus if this heat is going to continue there, I'll take oblivion."</p><p>"Thank you Shinji."</p><p>"Fuck off Love Dies." With that he was once again gone in a puff of acrid smoke.</p><p>As the island continued to rumble under her feet, Lady Love Dies made her way to the waiting car. She thought that there was a change in timbre towards the end - something that was reminiscent of a muscle car. Smiling briefly, she went to gather the last two standing. Time the go breath life into the new Perfect 25.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>